1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for sensing a smart card in a dual mode portable terminal and method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for sensing a smart card that determines a master device according to a connected smart card in a portable terminal having two or more modes.
2. Description of the Related Art
As portable terminals become widely used, various functions are being added to the portable terminals. Recently, dual mode portable terminals which can use a communications network according to two or more wireless protocols have been introduced. When using a portable terminal that supports a specific wireless telecommunications system, communications are only available in a service area of corresponding wireless telecommunications system. However, in a case of a dual mode portable terminal, for example, a Code Divisional Multiple Access (CDMA) system and a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), communications are available in a CDMA service area and a GSM service area, which increases communications availability. In a case of a conventional dual mode portable terminal, a system mode conversion is performed through a menu operation after the portable terminal completes a booting process and enters an IDLE mode. As a result, manipulation becomes complicated and a lot of time is required for mode switching. Accordingly, a dual standby portable terminal has been suggested. The dual standby portable terminal is a dual mode portable terminal that simultaneously supports both modes of GSM and CDMA. That is, in the case of the dual standby portable terminal, when receiving a call of another module during the use of one module, the mode is automatically converted to receive the call of another module. In the case of the portable terminal having two or more modes, communications are performed by using a telephone number stored in a smart card according to a connected smart card. However, the master device is determined based on the order of the smart card mounting. Therefore, the smart card should be initially mounted after the smart card that has a frequently used telephone number is confirmed. When the smart card having a telephone number which is not frequently used is mounted and booted, re-mounting of the smart card can be an inconvenience.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and method for sensing a smart card that determines a master device without re-mounting the smart card.